Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

It is a documented truth that I don't deal well with stress. Unfortunately my life seems to be jampacked with stressors that I just can't seem to shake. Today, since I was off from work, was declared a mental health day.

I floated in the blowup pool in my yard, but pretended I was in the Barbados.

Thanks to the pool, my float, my book, and my Boys of Summer play list for providing me with four hours of bliss.

A special MVP award today goes out to Coppertone sunscreen and Bain de Soliel Orange Gelee. These are the scents of my childhood summers. My brother and I would get coated in Coppertone while my mother, grandmother, and aunt would be basted with Orange Gelee.

The metal tube still basically looks the same. The scent is exactly the same. As soon as I smell it I am instantly transported back to Takanessee Beach Club. I spent my summers from birth to age 6 there, and if I think about it I can still hear the slap of the screen door to the Snack Bar and my grandmother's voice.

Places to go, Things to see: Part 1 - The North America edition

Six years ago I typed up a list of places I wanted to visit. Some of them were places I've always wanted to go, but never have been; others were old favorites that I would like to visit again (and again, and again). Today I'm going to focus on the North American destinations.

The U.S.A:
Washington D.C.* - I am nine years overdue a trip to the nation's Capital. I am jonesing a trip to the Smithsonian like I assume an addict would crave their next fix. I get shaky when I think of all of those museums and all of that history in one spot.

Williamsburg, Virginia* - It has been twenty years since I have been to Williamsburg. The last time I was there was for an American Girl tea party that introduced Felicity. I want to wander around the village and hit up Busch Gardens.

Annapolis, Maryland* - My parents saw no problem with driving down to Annapolis for lunch. It's such a pretty town and I want to find out if Buddy's Crabs still exists.

Baltimore, Maryland* - Such a cool town! It has an attitude all its own. I want to go to the Aquarium, wander around the waterfront, and pretend I'm in a John Waters' film.

Chincoteague* and Assateague* - I fell in love with Marguerite Henry's Misty series when I was little and I dreamed of going to visit Chincoteague and Assateague in order to see the wild ponies. When my parents bought our RV one of the first trips we took was to Tom's Cove Campground in Chincoteague. I still remember it as being one of the coolest campgrounds ever (only topped by one in The Keys). We went crabbing and had a ball at the wildlife preserve and the beach. Three years ago we went back down to the Islands on a whim to celebrate Mother's Day and My father's Halfway Thru Radiation Day. We stayed at a wonderful motel right on the channel, where I proceeded to shoot some of the best pictures of my life (the photo in my blog header is the view from the motel's dock at sunset), and my mother was stalked by a duck who was crushing on her. We had the most relaxing time and I've wanted to go back again ever since. I could see myself moving to Chincoteague someday.

Atlanta, Georgia - I have never been outside the Atlanta airport. I want to go to the aquarium, to the Varsity, and to The World of Coke. If I can get my brother to come with me I'll even go see a baseball game! The Braves are his favorite team.

Savannah, Georgia - I was first intrigues by the idea of Savannah when I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Then I was introduced to the world of Paula Deen. I want to eat tons of food at The Lady and Sons then wander around and take pictures of the architecture.

Hilton Head, North Carolina - Beaches and I are muy simpatico. I want to play in the dunes and see the sea grass. Someday I'll use vacation points to stay at the Disney Vacation Club Resort there and this will be given its very own star.

Charleston, South Carolina* - We stopped here once when I was too young to truly appreciate the beauty of this city. I remember going to Fort Sumter, a museum that I loved ... and I remembered the heat and the humidity:(. Next time I visit I'm going in October!

The Keys, Florida* - Visiting the Keys is the closest I've ever come to going somewhere tropical, and alas the last time I was there I was only 10, which kind of puts a damper on doing most of the traditional Keys activities. I've been to The Hogsbreath Saloon and Margaritaville, but I couldn't have a drink at either. I still managed to have a great time though. We went to the Aquarium, took a trolley tour, and I learned all about Hemingway and his cats. I had the best night sleep of my life while camping on Fiesta Key.

Orlando/Lake Buena Vista, Florida* - Three Words: Walt Disney World.

Crystal River, Florida - I want to go to the Manatee Preserve.

Memphis, Tennessee - Oh the music, oh the barbecue!!! When we drove my brother out to Texas we were supposed to stop in Memphis, but we stopped making in good time and we sped right through. No Graceland for my father, and no Beale Street for me.

Nashville, Tennessee - On the drive back from Texas we were supposed to stop in Nashville but ours plans changed.

New Orleans, Louisiana - Come on it's New Orleans - The food, the music, the history, the architecture, its strength of character... who could say no?

Austin, Texas* - My brother and sister in law lived in Austin for five years. It's such an amazingly eclectic city. I miss going there.

St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota* - Funny enough, the Twin Cities made it on my list because after reading The Girl Talk series when I was younger, I had always dreamed of seeing the Sculpture Garden. Imagine my surprise when my brother and sister in law moved to a St. Paul suburb two years ago. Minnesota is great. I can't wait to go to the Minnesota State Fair sometime. I wish I could go this year. I haven't seen my brother or sister in law in over a year and I really, really miss them.

Las Vegas, Nevada - The only reasons I want to ever go to Las Vegas is because I want to see Cirque de Soliel's production Love ... plus I'd really like to see my friend Ange again.

San Fransisco, California* - I spent two evenings in San Fransisco once and it wasn't enough time to even scratch the surface.

San Diego, California - One of my dreams is to learn how to surf and I want to do so at Surf Diva bootcamp at La Jolla Beach.

Anaheim, California - I'm a huge Disney history freak. I need to see Disneyland in person at least once in my life.

Portland, Oregon - It's supposed to be awesome here. It has beauty and Powell's books, and lest I forget, Voodoo Donuts!

Seattle, Washington - sort of the same reasons as Portland.

Hawaii - I want to go all over!!!!!! Oahu, Kuai, The Big Island, Waimea Bay, don't care where I start just get me there!!!

Alaska - I'll go anywhere. I just want to have my camera with me and about a trillion memory cards. Film of Alaska always makes me cry because it is so breathtaking.

Burlington, Vermont - Um hello, Vermont foliage (I'm a sucker for Fall), maple syrup,and Ben and Jerry's!

Boston, Massachusetts - I've never been to Boston :(. I want to walk the Freedom Trail and go to Quincy Market.

Ithaca, New York* - I'm planning an entire entry extolling the virtues of Ithaca, but in short it is truly Gorges ;)... plus it has been FAR too long since I have been back.

Lititz/Hershey, Pennsylvania* - We used to drive to Hershey and Lititz for the day when I was younger. Hershey is the "sweetest place on earth" and Lititz has the Sturgis Pretzel Factory and Wilbur's Chocolates.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania* - I'm long overdue a Philly shopping and museum adventure.

Mexico: History, Culture, and Beauty abound.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico
Guadalajara, Mexico
Ixtapa, Mexico

Canada: Full disclosure I've often felt sometimes like maybe I was supposed to have been born Canadian.

Victoria, B.C - The gardens!

Vancouver, B.C. - It's supposed to be such a beautiful and chill city.

Kingston, Ontario* - Such a neat city! I compared it to Ithaca on steroids. The downtown area has the Tea Store, an Indigo books, a theatre, and a Roots clothing store, I don't think I need much else.

Ottawa, Ontario - The capital of Canada, and the home to another Tea Store!

Toronto, Ontario* - If ever I move to a big city I'm moving to Toronto. There isn't enough time to describe all of the things I love about T.O.!!!!

Montreal, Quebec - The Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, poutine, McGill University, and Old Town.

Nova Scotia, Halifax - I fell in love with Budge Wilson's version of Nova Scotia and I want to see how the real thing measures up. I also really, really want to hear the fiddlers.

Newfoundland - The sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea.

Cavendish, P.E.I. - I have dreamed of going all over Prince Edwards Island since I was seven because that is when I first fell in love with Anne of Green Gables. The ocean, the red sand, the seafood. I think I could probably die happy there.

Not so Happy Talk

South Pacific is kicking my behind right now. I'll be back sometime after the 24th with a few book reviews, another addition to Summer Travel: Book Edition, and a few other things!

Waiting for the Light[s] to Shine

Working in the theatre = lots of waiting. For the last four days I have been in rehearsal for South Pacific. I've waited while lights were hung, waited while lights were focused, and waited while lights were programmed. Tomorrow I'm going to be waiting while costumes are tried on and paraded. I actually don't mind all of this waiting because it gives me time to read my script which I only got four days ago. I'm currently acting as what I like to call a guerrilla stage manager. Instead of being needed for the entire audition and rehearsal process, as is tradition, I instead get called in 7 days before the show opens. The last few times I have done this I wrangled props and actors and made sure backstage ran smoothly. This time I'm actually calling the show and I'm freaking out!

I haven't called a show in eight years. After college my self confidence in my stage managing capabilities deflated and I gave up on my dreams of being a professional. 10% of my brain is sure that in the end everything will be fine, but right now the other 90% of my brain keeps thinking about Stern's words of wisdom from The Stage Manager's Handbook: "Everything that goes wrong is your fault".

Gulp! One wrongly called cue can bollocks the whole show. It takes time to learn the flow of a show and tomorrow when I call the show for the first time in rehearsal I will only have seen it twice. I've got till Tuesday at 11:00 pm to get it down cold. Please pray for me!!

P.S. - Extra theatre geek bonus points if you understand why the title of this entry is funny.

I think Minnie Mouse would probably make an excellent shopping buddy

I've mentioned before that I'm a Disney nut. In addition to the Winnie the Pooh characters I have always held a fondness in my heart for Minnie Mouse. Perhaps it is because from an early age I have always been the tomboy with a group of guy friends, so I can appreciate a girl who runs with the boys, or perhaps it is my fondness for red backgrounds with white polka dots. Who knows? I do know that from the age of 5 to probably about 12 I always had the same white sweatshirt from Walt Disney World that had Minnie Mouse on it. I think I wore through 4 or 5 of them before I could no longer find one in my size. I have searched high and low, but I can't find an image of this sweatshirt on the Internet anywhere and due to the fact that I think I look like a troll in all childhood pictures over the age of 4 you will just have to take my word for it that this sweatshirt was awesome!

For a few years now I have been on the lookout for a replacement shirt, but unfortunately I am picky (some may say crazy). I have Minnie Mouse criteria. She has to be wearing the red, white polka dotted dress of my childhood. Not the vintage blue skirt, or just a red skirt, and surely not the pink, white polka dotted dress from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. An added challenge is that until further notice this shirt has to be plus sized.

I may not have found my dream shirt yet, but until I do I can make due with looking at these each day:

Photo from Amazon.com


Photo from Amazon.com

Every time I look down at them they make me smile. Even when I take my checkbook out to balance it!

In addition to my divine bag and wallet I've recently rediscovered other Minnie Mouse favorites. While fooling around on Itunes one day I found this:

Photo from Amazon.com

This was one of my favorite TV specials!!! In fact it is the first time I remember truly enjoying Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". Our VHS copy bit the dust long ago, but fortunately Youtube was created and there are other nostalgia hounds like me out there!




This got me thinking about another Minnie favorite

Photo from Amazon.com

I hadn't thought about this album for years, but boy did my friends and I listen to it a lot. Interesting anthropological note though; this album came out in 1990, when I was 10. My friends and I still loved it because back then , at ten, you were still a kid. You weren't as worried about being trendy. Christa's voice doesn't hold up as well as it did in my memory, but the songs are still catchy. I've added it to my ipod because I know my students will love it. Some of the ballads are perfect for rest time :0).

Minnie was pro- girl power waayyy before the Spice Girls!

Fire

Lately I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping and because of this my eyes feel like they're on fire. This got me thinking about the wildfires they are having out west ...
which got me thinking about songs that have the word fire in them.

Here are the first 3 that popped into my head, pretty much simultaneously:










What others am I missing?

No Money to Travel - Reading Journeys Part 1

So once again I find myself totally broke. As much as I would love to head out on a real summer voyage, I've decided instead that all of my journeys this season will have to be via book.

I begin my journey with a jaunt to India ala Miss Timmins' School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy and a trip to London thanks to Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma... If only I could get the stamps on my passport to commemorate these trips!

Miss. Timmins’ School for Girls, by Nayana Currimbhoy, was the perfect read for the start of a summer when I myself cannot travel. This book takes its readers on a journey back in time to India, to a British missionary’s run boarding school for girls; the year, 1974, the season, monsoon. It is here on her way to Miss Timmins’ that we meet one of our narrators, Charulata Apte. Charu is leaving home for the first time to teach English literature. She has led a very sheltered family-centric life up until this point. The reasons for this sheltering are explained as the story goes on. Firstly her family was forced to flee Bombay for the coast in order to escape scandal, and secondly Charu has a blot that covers part of her face. What begins as Charu’s coming of age tale as she breaks out of her shell and once befriended by the campus wild woman Moira Prince, begins a dance with the forbidden, eventually becomes an Agatha Christiesque whodunit, as one night Moira is pushed to her death off of a cliff of the nearby tablelands. The suspects are many, and it is through the eyes of Charu and one of her students, Nandita, that we piece together the events of that evening.

Ms. Currimbhoy has a wonderful way with words. Her passages were both highly descriptive and beautifully worded. She made India come alive for me as she wove foods, scents, texture, and history into her story, yet I feel that for all of this beauty, elements of the plot were choppy. Though I enjoyed the book, I found the pacing rather uneven. The story would come to fits and starts, rolling slowly uphill to suddenly lose control and veer left as it crested the hill. I suggest that any readers who find themselves frustrated, and have trouble with the pacing, continue stick with the story, for in the end it is all worth it. I also hope that next time around Ms. Currimbhoy stick to a simpler plot line so her soaring prose can have a true chance to shine.

Miss Timmins' may have taken me back in time, but Forbidden rocked my world and threw it off of its axis. While Miss Timmins' came into my life through NetGalley.com, I dove into Forbidden on a total whim (sans description) thanks to Simon and Schuester's E-Galley program. A note before you continue reading: Forbidden is not for the faint of heart!

Forbidden tells the story of the Whitley family through the eyes and alternating voices of Lochan, an almost 18 year old boy suffering from crippling social anxiety disorder, and that of his 16 year old sister Maya. Anxiety disorder is the least of Lochan and Maya's problems, for they have been handed a truly (to borrow a word from the U.K.) SHITE hand in life.

The reader quickly learns that Lochan and Maya's father abandoned the family years ago and their mother is an alcoholic who is happy to believe that she can still party like she is childless and in her early 20s. The care and keeping of the house and their three younger siblings (Kit, Tiffin, and Willa) falls solely on their shoulders. I can barely take care of myself now, so I sure as hell can't picture caring for a family at almost 18 and 16. Lochan and Maya's lives are anything but normal, but they try to soldier on.

It is here at Chapter 2 that I was suddenly struck with the awful feeling that I knew exactly where this story was heading ... all that was missing was arsenic coated powdered donuts and a psycho grandmother. Forbidden wasn't messing around and it wasn't going to hold back any punches. We were truly heading into forbidden territory! To be completely honest I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue on once I glimpsed where the train was headed. Incest isn't my cup of tea, but Suzuma's hypnotic writing kept calling to me.

Her talent is so strong and her characters were so vividly written that I couldn't look away because Lochan and Maya are that gut wrenching of characters. I couldn't look away even as the train ride came to a crashing end ... an end I didn't see coming, and an end which (when I realized what was about to happen) caused me to cry out "no, anything but that ... haven't they already been through enough!?!?". Suzuma and her heart breaking creations cause her readers to question their beliefs. Even though everything is so, so, so absolutely wrong you find yourself rooting for Lochan and Maya, even as you realize how so, so, so absolutely wrong their situation is. Romeo and Juliet has nothing on these two, and as with Romeo and Juliet you will need tissues!

Reading Forbidden shook me so much that even though it was 11:30 on a weeknight when I finished, I had to call my best friend to tell him all about the story. I knew that there was no way that I would sleep that night if I didn't try to process through what I had read. As I said to my friend once I was finally calm, "Forbidden was one hell of a book and I will read ANYTHING that Tabitha Suzuma writes ... even if it's the back of a cereal box ... she's that good!".